THE PICHICIAGO. 347 



It is a little bit of a creature, only a few inches in 

 length, and possessing a suit of shelly armour much 

 like that of the armadillo, except that the hind 

 quarters are also covered with shelly plates. Beneath 

 the shell, if we may so call it, there is a coating of 

 shining yellow hair, looking very much like floss silk. 



There are two points about this remarkable animal 

 which are worthy of notice, the one being the mode 

 in which the hind quarters are protected, and the other 

 the manner in which the shelly covering is affixed to 

 the body. 



As to the first point, there is a curious and very 

 striking analogy between the armour of the Pichiciago 

 and the shell of the testacella slug. This creature feeds 

 on worms, which it follows down their holes, and in 

 order to be protected from any foe that might follow it in 

 the rear, it has a small shell on the end of its tail. This 

 shell prevents the slug from being assailed from behind, 

 and is clearly analogous to the armour of the Pichiciago. 



The next point is the mode of affixing the shelly 

 plates. In most mammals which possess similar 

 armour, such as the armadillo, the manis, etc., the 

 armour is a mere growth from the skin, and can be 

 removed with the skin. But in the Pichiciago, we 

 have the remarkable fact that the framework which 

 supports the horny armour is attached to the skeleton, 

 as may be seen by examining the specimen to be seen 

 in the British Museum. 



As to the partial earth trespassers among the 

 mammalia, they are far too many to be described, or 

 even enumerated. I will therefore merely content 



